College Tour Adds Valuable Insights

Being a high school senior, I have a big decision to make about my future; where I’m going to college.

After spending hours and hours researching different schools, majors, and locations I finally narrowed my choices down to a top pick: University of Pittsburgh.

Since Alaska is so far away from Pittsburgh I worried about not being able to visit. However I worked out a plan with my mother to go during a long weekend. The weekend I was planning on visiting coincided with a special event they were holding for already admitted business students.

I scheduled an additional tour day in which I would be able to sit in on a marketing/advertising class and have meetings with an academic advisor and go to a study abroad open house.

I drove into Pittsburgh from New York where I was visiting family the night before my first tour and walked around the city to get a first look at everything

At first it was all a huge shock because of how different everything was. The moment I emerged from the car I was surrounded by cars, people, and large buildings. The city is so different from Anchorage, but that’s part of the reason why I love it.

The university is placed in the center of the city so I was in the same area the next day for my tour.

The first tour day I met a lot of people and made sure I had plenty of questions to ask.

The marketing class I sat in on was really interesting and I even took a quiz. The professor joked that if I did better than any students, they would be kicked out of the class.

I ended up getting an 8/25, so I think everyone in the class is safe.

After sitting through multiple presentations and a personal tour, my first day was over. By the end of the day I was still in love with the university, and my mom’s only complaint was the tuition price.

The second day was a lot more interesting since it was specifically for admitted business and nursing students.

The day consisted of presentations about study abroad, internships, and an overview of the business college.

I was able to learn a lot more information about the specific major that I originally declared, global management.

After talking to an advisor I’ve decided to change my major to marketing with a certificate in international business.

This is because if I did global management I’d be required to do a study abroad in Japan since I’m fluent with the language. However, I don’t want to be limited to where I travel to.

I left the city right after the last presentation was over, and spent the four-hour drive back to New York thinking and discussing my options.

The downside of going to school in Pittsburgh is that it’s hard to get to.

It requires three expensive plane rides, consisting of over 12 hours of travel time. Additionally the tuition is fairly steep, especially considering that I have almost a full ride to the University of Alaska Anchorage.

I only have a few months left to make a decision of where I’m going to spend the next four years of my life, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to make the best choice for me.